Chapter 20: Back in Gotham
Mark flew out of the airlock after his long and quite frankly annoying conversation with Batman, though he cleared that from his mind for now and started flying back towards the earth. As much as he enjoyed the feeling of floating in space there were people he worried about and others he needed to check on, at the top of that list was Waylon.
While he didn't have much hope for him being alive due to how easily his Dad disregarded human life he did have a small spark of hope, Waylon had saved Marks ass from being robbed and murdered more times than he can count, he's the reason he even managed to beat Nolan in the first place. Without him Mark would bet he'd be halfway to the Viltrum home planet by now, he felt his heart tighten and feel overwhelmed with guilt at the thought of Waylon dying, it hadn't felt real before but as he flew closer and closer the real weight of what had happened started to weigh on him.
He sped through the sky making his way to Gotham, it didn't take him long to get there and when he did everything became real and not just some horrible dream. He felt his breathing start to get ragged as he floated in the air, down below him was Gotham but so much of it was destroyed, at the time he thought he had done his best to reduce to damage to his surroundings but it seemed he was wrong. Lots of buildings were partially collapsed and roads were ripped up, it looked like a bomb had gone off.
Mark found himself clenching his fists as he looked down to a certain road where the blood still stained it even a fortnight later. Mark shot off towards his mom's house, he couldn't just let himself stay there feeling guilty, he'd always been a person of actions rather than words so if he felt like this then he'd do something about it. But first, he'd check on those closest to him and make sure they weren't caught in the crossfire.
Flying over the city he saw lots of buildings that had collapsed being excavated by the fire department in conjunction with different construction companies, he could see bodies being pulled out of the rubble and he looked away focusing on flying to his mom's house.
Flying to his bedroom window he carefully opened it and slipped in, it hadn't been that long since he had been in here, not even a year, but it sure as hell seemed it considering what had happened in such a short time. His room was clean, a lot cleaner than he ever kept it, though I suppose his Mom had thought he was dead so she'd at least want to keep his things undisturbed, he walked to his bed and sat down. On his bedside cabinet was a picture of him, Mom and Dad when he was younger it was their first holiday together that he could remember.
Mark lifted his hand and grabbed the picture of the cabinet looking at it and sighing. For a moment he just looked at it remembering all he could about that moment in time, eventually, he put it back on his cabinet though he left it face down. It was just then that the door to his room opened and his Mom walked in with a pistol raised in his direction, which isn't that unexpected when you live in Gotham and think someone might've broken in.
"Stand up slowly and put your hands up!" Debbie shouted as she pointed the gun at Mark.
"Mom... it's me," Mark said as he turned around and looked at her with a small smile.
Debbie gasped as she put her hand to her mouth while her other still pointed the gun at Mark shakily, tears started to form in her eyes as she looked at her son, the one that should be dead. Debbie had seen the news coverage of Superman punching a hole through her son and him being thrown into the sea "T-This c-cant be real... you're just my imagination" she whispered out as she backed up out of the room into the hallway. It had been a difficult few months for Debbie, losing her son had been like a gut punch and did weeks she didn't even leave her room and barely ate, she'd considered ending it all as what did she have to live for, she'd lost her husband and her son.
Mark stood up from the bed and walked around in front of it "It's me, Mom." He said softly as he reached out and took the gun from her before dropping it the the ground. Debbie launched herself at Mark hugging him tightly as she wept, she held him as if he might disappear forever as she still wasn't sure whether this was all a dream or not.
"Please tell me you're real!" She said desperately as she gripped him tightly, she started sobbing even louder making Mark return the hug as he rubbed her back "I'm real Mom, and I'm back home," he said reassuringly.
And that's how they stayed for a while, Debbie cries tears of sadness, of joy, of relief all at once. Mark held her the whole time as he comforted her, he had missed his Mom so much, and if it wasn't for the fact that he needed to comfort her he would be crying as well, with everything that had happened with him being on the run to then facing his Dad he was just glad he was home now.
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"You stupid stupid stupid!" Debbie said as she slapped Mark's shoulder with a pillow she'd gotten from
The sofa. After she had calmed down from the shock of seeing Mark they sat down and Mark answered all the questions she had, Mark answered them all and explained where he had been the past months.
What made Debbie start hitting Mark was when he mentioned that he had gotten Kara pregnant "Stupid boy! I'm too young to be a grandmother!" She said as she kept throwing things at him that Mark caught and put down "Mom wait! There's a good explanation I promise!" He said just before catching the TV remote that was aimed at his head. After she calmed down a bit Mark explained to her that after his Viltrumite powers came in it gave him a hormonal imbalance that is normal for his race as there are so few of them, they're driven to mate with the best candidates.
After the conversation, she calmed down and instead just smiled "So when do I get to meet my future daughter-in-law." She asked.
Mark smiled sheepishly "Well I'm sure she's busy so-"
"So tomorrow? Very good I'll make sure to cook something nice, she can eat human food right?" Debbie said as she stood up from the sofa.
Mark's eyes widened "Mom wait I won't be able to come tomorrow!" He said as he followed her into the kitchen and watched her look through the cabinets "There is still something I haven't told you yet... about Dad." he told her, this stopped Debbie and she just stood there with her hands on the kitchen cabinet. The fight between the Justice League and Nolan had only been covered slightly so Debbie had known that he'd come back though she wasn't sure what had happened after as there were lots of conflicting rumours and the news helicopter crashed at some point before the end.
"After Dad beat the League... I was the one who fought him," he said in a low tone as he placed his hand on his mom's back "I tried to kill him... but he's alive, he said he misses you." Mark said to her.
Debbie started to cry once more, everything was so complicated but at least she had her son back. Despite what she'd heard about what Nolan did she still loved him and she missed him as well.
For the second time that day, she broke down and cried in her son's arms.
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Mark flew across Gotham he was heading back towards Wayne Tower, as it was in that area that Waylon had saved him from getting taken by his Dad. He kept on getting sidetracked however as he had discovered a pocket of people trapped in the basement of a collapsed building, luckily they seemed to have had a supply of food and water otherwise they'd be dead.
Mark ripped his sleeve off and made a makeshift mask with it as he flew down to the rubble, it didn't take long for him to dig down to the basement with his super strength as well as gravity powers. He didn't much like the attention he was getting from the people he'd saved nor the firemen who thanked him but he was glad he could help them, he saw himself as partially responsible for what happened to Gotham and so this helped relieve the guilt he felt a bit.
After helping a few more trapped people Mark shot off again and landed on the street where Waylon had joined the fight, he could see the sewer grate he had used as well as the building he'd most likely been thrown through, a lot do the area was cordoned off and hadn't even been cleaned. There were a large amount of blood stains on the floor which led into the building that had a massive hole inside of it. While Mark was sure he wasn't allowed in here he knew no one would question a person who was currently floating above the ground.
Mark flew through the hole and made it to the area where Waylon most likely landed, at first he thought perhaps he was dead and his body was carted away but his eye caught a trail leading away from the area. Mark followed it and felt hopeful as he saw it lead down to a sewer grate, he quickly dashed towards it and ripped it open before flying down. The trail was harder to follow down here but Waylon seemed to be bleeding a lot and it managed to dry even in such a damp place.
Flying through the sewer tunnels Mark turned a corner and felt his hope shatter into dust. He landed on the ground and started walking, he walked straight until he came to the large-scaled body of his friend. He was facedown on the ground seemingly having succumbed to his injuries, Mark felt incredible amounts of rage and sadness overwhelm him, he slammed his fist into the wall which cracked it and shook the whole tunnel as he screamed.
He knelt by his friend "I'm sorry... you didn't deserve to die here alone," he said with tears pouring down his face. Waylon was a good guy, a lot better than most other people in Gotham and a lot better than someone with his condition should've been. Mark sat by the wall next to his friend for a while, something he'd do with Waylon from time to time only this time there wouldn't be another. Mark finally got up "I won't leave you here..." he said as he pulled him by the arm and put his body over his shoulder he started floating again and flying right out of the sewer.
Mark flew out of Gotham to a hill with a large tree, he conjured a red sphere with his hand and quickly used it to make a hole in the ground before putting Waylon inside of it. He filled it in and then got a large stone that he put at the back of the grave "I hope I'll get to see you again one day." Mark said as he finished carving the message into the gravestone, he stood there a few more minutes before flying away.
*
Here lies Waylon Jones
Patron for the lost
Friend
*
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Nolan groaned once again as he downed a whole bottle of painkillers, his eyes were bloodshot and his fists were clenched. His entire right side was bandaged but blood could still be seen soaking it, he sat in a small cheap house in Mexico where he was currently hiding. His first thought was to get in communication with Viltrum but he changed his mind, he was too injured at the moment and if he made contact with them they would undoubtedly send Conquest or Anissa which were two people he couldn't deal with unless he was at full strength.
As angry as he was that he had lost his fight he couldn't help the smile that stretched on his face as he thought about how strong his son was 'A True hybrid hasn't been seen in thousands of years,' he thought to himself as he considered the implications of Marks existence. He'd seen how powerful Thragg was as a True Viltrumite/Tamaranian Hybrid. Having the power to absorb solar radiation not only enhanced his already considerable power, but as he aged the more he stored. His body was essentially a budding Star and even Viltrumite scientists did not know how long he'd live or how powerful he'd become.
'Perhaps Mark will be the same,' Nolan thought to himself as he reached to his right side remembering his final attack. He didn't even feel any resistance, as soon as his arm came into contact with the sphere it was disintegrated or erased from existence.
Once he healed he'd have to find a replacement arm to get back into fighting shape 'Though who knows where I'll find a decent prosthetic in such a low-tech world,' he thought as he stroked his chin.
His mind drifted back to his time as a hero and his different encounters with villains. If he wanted a prosthetic that would be able to keep up with him he could seek out Lex Luthor and force him to do it, though he didn't trust the man not to build a few tricks into it. He also was reluctant to get one made of Terran technology, which left one more option 'Intergang,' he thought to himself with a smirk.
"Papa! Papa!"
Nolan turned around to see a fourteen-year-old boy coming inside with a woman "Look, Papa!" The boy said as he pushed himself off the ground and started floating. Nolan stood up from the table with a smile on his face "Mi amor! We must change your bandages," the woman said as she put down her bag of shopping.
"I am fine Ana, it is time to celebrate Oliver here has finally come into his powers and so early as well!" Nolan said with excitement as he patted Oliver on the back.
"Can I finally help you, Papa? Like you said!" He said with excitement.
Nolan smiled "Of course we will start your training tomorrow," he said much to Oliver's excitement.
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Mark was sitting on a building in Gotham drinking from a bottle of vodka, though he doubted he'd get drunk he would try. Though as he sipped on the bottle and held it in front of him he had a bit of a realisation.
"SHIT HARLEY!"
(AN: So another chapter of setting stuff up, ugh I genuinely hate chapters like this I find it boring but I have to do it. I also find it hard to write reunions and sad stuff but now that's pretty much over with. But yeah Nolan was a bit of a player. And since I'm not doing that insect planet storyline, Oliver is human. Hope you enjoyed the chapter)
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